* Eat a healthy diet that is high in wholegrain cereals, oatmeal is low in fat and high in fibre so will keep you feeling full for longer. Eat a wide variety of coloured fruit and vegetables daily. Eat plenty of oily fish such as mackerel, salmon and sardines which are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and help prevent blood clotting. Ensure your diet is rich in protein, lean cuts of meat and fish, eggs, beans, seeds and nuts and potassium (avocados and bananas are great sources).
* Decrease sugar and starch intake, potatoes, and white varieties of bread, rice and pasta to combat fat storage. Cut down on fat and sugary foods, and keep alcohol to a minimum to prevent accumulation of fat cells. Eliminate if possible, or at least cut down on caffeine. Reduce calorie intake and meal portion sizes, be conscious of what you eat and eat slowly.
* For bone health and strong surrounding tissues, choose foods high in calcium such as dairy products, orange juice fortified with calcium malate, tinned sardines and salmon, broccoli and almonds are also a good source of calcium. The recommended daily dose is 700mg so if you find it hard to eat the equivalent take a calcium supplement, this will also help with losing weight.
* Drink at least two litres of water a day. Cut down on fizzy drinks, soda and fruit juices, these all have hidden extra calories and are not good for you. Try drinking green tea instead of normal tea, it's a great antioxidant and helps with weight loss.
* Make exercise part of your lifestyle. Exercising is essential if you want to lose weight and stay in shape. Take up an exercise that you enjoy, that way it won't be a chore but a pleasure and you are more likely to stick to something you enjoy doing. Try involving your partner or a friend and make it a social event, something to look forward to. You don't have to go to the gym to exercise, you can go for a brisk walk or go swimming, dancing, gardening, play tennis, cycling, the choice is endless and totally yours!
You will find that if you follow these diet dos and don'ts and make them part of your lifestyle you will lose weight and stay in shape without having to follow any strict diet and without depriving yourself from all the things you love. Moderation is the key to losing weight long term and staying in shape.
By: Carole Isle

It might sound to you like a joke but it is the truest thing you have ever heard. You can lose pounds of weight by simply drinking two liters of water daily. You don't have to go on any diet or register in a gym, just drink water before and after meal and make sure that at the end of the day, you have about two liters of water in your body. How does it work? Read the paragraphs below.
When you drink water before any meal, the water is bound to take up space in your stomach. You would then proceed to eat and end up eating little food. This is because you would full after some mouthfuls. The good side to this is that your brain tells you that you have eaten enough, so you would hardly get hunger pangs. When your body doesn't get enough calorie intakes, it would have to pull from the reserve to provide you with adequate energy.
No digestion process can take place without water. During the process of digestion, solids are broken down and converted to liquids, which are then transported to the blood stream. Water is needed for the process of conversion and you would do yourself a whole world of good by drinking enough water. When your body lacks water for the process of digestion, the food would get acted upon by hormones and acids but cannot be converted to liquid. The food would then get spoiled and remain in your tummy as waste.
You need water to regularly cleanse your large intestine. By virtue of what we eat, toxins get into our body and prevent the large intestine from function properly. The large intestine is one of most important organs when it comes to excretion and when it fails to function well, waste products would remain packed in your body developing fats. If you drink enough water, your body would be able to flush out all the toxins and make your excretory system function well. This would greatly help your weight loss dream.
You can know see the basic effects a task as simple as drinking water would have on your weight and body as a whole.
By: Alamuoye Timothy